Final Race Before Nationals

In grid, ready for action!

Final race before Nationals at Devens with NER! I got to test out quite a few new goodies this event, such as my new Series 2 RX-8 transmission, new matching lightweight flywheel and clutch kit, custom intake, and tune. I really was hoping to have the new brake pads in by this race, but unfortunately didn't get the chance to and fought with any sections I had to brake hard into.

NER @ Loudon

Photo by Michael Siergiej - Michael Siergiej Photography

Another co-drive with Brian, only this time at NER! With Serenity still under the knife at Flatout Motorsports getting the new intake, followed by going to Wankel Works for the new transmission and clutch/flywheel kit, I asked Brian if I could drive his C Street RX-8 again.

Concrete Practice @ Brunswick

MM and Hazard, ready for action

Couldn't make it into the Wilmington Tour's list? No problem. About two and a half hours north of Devens Airfield is a great Naval air station in East Brunswick, Maine. The main reason I wanted to go to Wilmington in the first place was to get practice on concrete. Considering I can now get that practice closer, cheaper, more runs, and more of a relaxed event... I'm there like swimwear.

Shakedown @ BMW with Amy

Photo credit to Jesus Mendez - Garage 15

Nationals is getting closer and closer, and I'm getting more and more ready for it this time around. I was fortunate enough to have Amy Dilks of Stripes Racing and EFI Logics come out and test drive the car. Amy is a phenomenal NASA TT and Autocrosser from New York, and I'm trying to convince her to come on out to Nationals with me this year and compete in DSPL.

Not So Well @ NER

Photo credit to Chang Ho Kim - FunPhotos

This was not a very good event for me unfortunately. Ironic because now that I have finally sorted out all o my problems and the car is at 100%, I drive as hard as I need to. That didn't seem to be the case during this event...

Renegade Miata Co-Drive

Red isn't my color, but I will admit this is a gorgeous car...

Brian was kind enough to let me co-drive his 2009 RX-8 R3 for this event, as I wanted to drive something a little different. Even though his alignment was very out of whack due to seized camber bolts, I still had a blast and it was great practice! Thanks Brian!

Devens Match Tour 2014

Photo credit to Chang Ho Kim - FunPhotos

Match Tours are seemingly losing their popularity due more and more as the 2014 season goes on. I can understand why, especially due to the format, but they are still fun to some respect in their own right.

Practice Before Match Tour

Photo credit to Chang Ho Kim - FunPhotos

Ben and I were originally aiming to try out the new rear springs I had picked up for the car for the upcoming Match Tour, but unfortunately I did not get them installed in time. Instead we just had fun and battled it out for top PAX for the day.

2nd Place in Pro @ NER

Photo credit to Chang Ho Kim - FunPhotos

My first race back with SCCA NER for this season, and it's a blast! A great course, paired with most of my problems finally sorted out, I was feeling pretty confident about the car.

New Jersey Champ Tour 2014

Photo by Perry Aidelbaum - AutoX4U Photography

This was absolutely an amazing weekend at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey! I couldn't have asked for a better time. Great competition, amazing course, good company, and the car running at 100%. This was definitely my favorite National level event I have competed in. Because of this, I'm seriously debating heading out to Wilmington to see how I do there.

Fuel Problems Part 2 & DC ProSolo

Photo by Perry Bennett - AutoXPix.com

Remember that time when I said I had fixed the fuel issues? Unfortunately, they were not fixed. They certainly got better after the more work WankelWorks and I did.. But at full throttle, and especially holding the throttle steady, the car was becoming VERY rich. The symptoms were almost identical to that of a vacuum leak, yet after a smoke test, everything came back fine. From there, we then started replacing everything that has any part of the fuel system.

Stirling Moss Finale

Photo by Michael Siergiej - Michael Siergiej Photography

This was it, the finale for the New England Region. Same as every year, it is also the Stirling Moss run offs. Now, as much as I wanted to compete for the Moss trophy, as mentioned in my previous post, my fuel pump was having issues. That being said, I unfortunately was not able to run my car in the Moss. I was willing to even risk the replacement pump as well and see if I could even manage a run or two, but the fuel pump ring wouldn't even stay on oddly enough. I still had a seat for the Moss though, as Mickle Motorsports came to the rescue and let me run in their ASP Subaru STi.

Aero Testing @ Renegade

Can't help but feel like the car looks more aggressive with the aero

It was one of those days that I could have lived without the other half of it. Yep. John and I had planned out to use this event to test out the new aero from Joefis Racing and to see how everything turned out. In return, we got to do that, as well as deal with a failing fuel pump. I was pretty upset when this happened, as I really wanted to focus on feeling out and learning the overall new characteristics of the car, but John and I only got a limited number of runs. Enough ranting about the broken fuel pump though, onto the data points!

S2000 Codrive @ NER

Photo by Michael Siergiej - Michael Siergiej Photography

Back from Nationals, and feeling better than ever! This is the last points event of the year for NER SCCA before the finale, and I wanted to have some fun this time around. It would be good for me, as I needed to clear my head of some negativity I still had from Nationals, and my car is still in Pennsylvania getting aero anyways. Nick Barbato was kind enough to offer me a seat in his B Stock Honda S2000 CR, so a huge thanks to Nick for the opportunity!

My First Solo Nationals

Photo by Rupert Berrington - Rupert Berrington Action Photography

I survived my first SCCA Solo Nationals, and it was almost as good as when I went to Tokyo Auto Salon in Japan! People talk about Nationals and give you all sorts of stories or ideas of what it would be like, but none of them really capture what it is all about. I'll start with the non racing related stuff first, just to get it out of the way.

The Road To Lincoln

Loaded up and on the road!

Here we are, on the way to Lincoln, Nebraska for the Solo National Championships! So far we've hit a lot of rain, minor tow vehicle trouble, but nothing has stopped us yet. Thanks to everyone for the support and good luck to us on our journey! As I post this, we're about 13 hours away. We'll be meeting up with Charles and Jennifer from Black Halo Racing at the site, unload the trailer, and then rest up at the hotel for Monday. I wanted to give a quick post about what you can do if you would like to follow along during race time.

Prepping For National Championships

Only a few more days before I saddle up and am off to the "Mother Land"... The "Holy Grail" for autocrossers. The great, week-long "Summer Camp"; The 41st TireRack Solo National Championship in Lincoln, Nebraska! The car and I have both come a long way, and I can't wait to see how far we can take it at Nationals. Thanks to Charles at Black Halo Racing that I'm able to even go to Nationals this year, and I can't thank him enough for his efforts and support this year. John unfortunately will not be able to make it out there with me, but I will be going with long-time racer Brian Levesque; the good friend that taught me how to autocross long ago. I think it will be fitting so that the teacher can see the student come around full circle, don't you?

STX Battle: RX-8 vs. BRZ

Hurst RX-8

I got to catch up with a fellow RX-8 racer from New York, Jeff Hurst. I was checking in with him to see how his racing season has been going. He did a post recently that I wanted to share on the blog, as it's been a hot topic as of late. A Street Touring Xtreme (STX) built RX-8 vs. a STX built BRZ. Jeff and Eric Simmons got to compare their two cars back to back at an event. Jeff had this to say about the test.

Last Race Before Nats @ NER!

Photo by Michael Siergiej - Michael Siergiej Photography

This is it. After this event, I have a weekend off, and then off to Lincoln Nebraska. John was unable to make it to the event, so I took this opportunity to really focus on getting more intuned with the car. Seeing how far I could push it through different elements, at what point I needed to dial it back, played with a few minor settings, etc.

John Takes Top PAX @ NHMS!

Photo by Michael Siergiej - Michael Siergiej Photography

Race Against Leukemia weekend over at New Hampshire Motor Speedway! We didn't have a lot of people this event, only having about  54 registered to run. If there was a time to shine and get that PAX glass, it was now. Fortunately for John, he had figured out the secret to the course where I had struggled, and went for the goal!